The Brilliance of Him
by SophiaOfSlytherin
Summary: Story of Brill Potter. Her 6th year. Marauder's 7th. Brill falls in love with her brothers enemy. One-sided OCxSS. When it's done, don't read the ending if you have a religious problem with talk of the afterlife and such. R&R Be polite in your commenting.
1. of Hufflepuffs and KnowItAll Marauders

"You'd better be Gryffindor," James threatened, waving his finger in my face, "Or else I'll disown you."

"I know, Jamie," I said, and he looked completely horrified. His mate who sat beside me, Sirius, laughed so hard it almost hurt to listen.

"Jamie?" said another of James' mates, Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in public!" James hissed at me, and I giggled.

"You let her.. call you.. Jamie!?" Sirius asked, still laughing.

"It's not like I let her!" He replied, red in the face, "I just can't make her stop!"

"I-I'm gonna like you," Sirius added, pointing to me, and I couldn't help but smile. Remus chuckled a little, and the quietest boy, Peter, even grinned.

"Ahh, shut up, Sirius," James said, swatting him, "I don't need to hear you go on about enjoying my sister. Next thing I know, you'll be holding her hand, and I'll have to kill you."

"Sister?!" Remus said, shooting a look at me. I supposed to anyone besides Sirius, who'd already met me when he visited this summer, couldn't tell James and I were related. After all, the only feature we shared were our brown eyes. His black mess of hair didn't exactly mirror my brown curls.

"Yep," James said, not exactly smiling, but not really frowning, "This is my little sister, Brilliance Potter." I waved. "This is her first year." he added at the end. He puffed out his chest proudly, reminding me it was his second year.

"How did such an airhead like James," Remus asked, "come about a sister so intelligent?"

James stuck his tongue out, but I replied simply, "Never really worked that out, honestly. Mum and I reason Dad dropped him on his head one too many times."

"Hey!" James protested, "Dad never dropped me!"

"Maybe he threw you?" Sirius suggested, and I bursted into laughter. James was about to hit me, but a red-haired girl walked by with a greasy-haired boy, and caught his attention.

"Oi! Evans!" He shouted, and the girl snapped around. He grinned. "Meet my sister yet?"

"Oh, God," the girl said, appauled, "There's another one of you?"

"Hogwarts will fall to ruins," her friend agreed, and they walked away laughing.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"That's Snape," Remus said, pointing at the boy, "James and Sirius call him 'Snivelly'."

"Yes, we do," said Sirius. He pointed at the girl. "That's Lily Evans!" He drew hearts in the air as he said her name.

"The one from your journal?!" I shrieked before cracking into laughter again. This time, he hit me.

That was six years ago, and now I sat on the train, in the same seat, as I had. Next to me was Padfoot. Chubby little Wormtail sat across from us. I now knew, and quite often used, their nicknames. Not much had changed these years except that Lily no longer spoke to Snivelly. Two years ago he called her a Mudblood, and she hasn't spoken kindly to or of him since.

"Oi, Brill," Padfoot interupted my remembering of said events, "What are you staring at?"

"Was I staring?" I teased, "My mistake, I was trying to figure out of if that was a zit on your forehead, because it looks like it might just sprout legs and walk away."

"Touche," He replied with a laugh, then went silent momentarily. "I have a zit?!"

"Not really," Wormtail said. Padfoot sighed with relief.

"Darn it, Wormtail," I said bitterly, "You spoil my fun. Where's Prongs and Moony at?"

"Doing their headboy and prefect duties," Padfoot replied, "God only knows why Dumbledore made Prongs headboy this year. Maybe because Lily is headgirl and he's doing some love control?"

"Prefect duties!" I remembered, "I've got them, too! I completely forgot!"

Sirius made a "shoo-shoo" motion. "Off with you, then."

I got up and bolted out of the compartment, and went to the prefect compartment.

By time I got there, my little yellow Hufflepuff badge was crooked, my hair was in my face, and I was panting from running. Snivellus smirked at my pain, and Lily tapped her foot.

"We had to start the meeting without you," she said impatiently. "You know, even your brother had the class to show up."

"Hear that, Brill?!" Prongs said excitedly, "Lily says I've got class!"

"We were making the schedual for patrols," Lily stated, "And you weren't here to give your input, so we gave you patrol with Snape." She said his name bitterly, obviously still hurt from the past events.

"Sorry," Moony mouthed to me. I nodded, knowing he had nothing to do with this.

"Gonna suck to be you, isn't it?" Prongs chuckled, and I glared at him. This was his doing.

"You're so going to get it," I growled, then chased him around the compartment.

"Act your age!" Lily shouted at us, "Not you're I.Q.!"

"Aw, Lilyflower," my brother whined, "That hurt."

I slapped his head. "Bet that hurt worse.

That night, the first night of the school-year, they'd given me and Snape patrols. I groaned when I remembered. (I remembered about ten minutes after I was supposed to be there, I might add.) I grabbed my wand and ran to where we were supposed to meet.

"You're late," Snape said plainly, clearly unamused.

"I'm forgetful," I used as my excuse.

"Too bad," he said, "Since I had to wait, now we'll both be out here ten minutes later than scedualed. Congratulations. That's ten minutes of sleep I won't get."

"Aw, does poor Snivelly need his beauty sleep?" I mocked, "You know, you'd have to sleep for a really long time."

"Let's get this over with," he growled.

"Gladly," I said, rolling my eyes and following him down the halls.

Patrol went slowly, and minutes seemed like decades. We were patrolling 10:00pm to 1:00 am, so at midnight, I yawned and sat down for a minute.

"Get up, will you?" Snape said, shaking me slightly.

"Why?" I asked, yawning again, "The first years aren't stupid enough to explore the first night, and everybody else knows Dumbledore would whip their arses if they were out of bed the first day of the year."

"Your brother explored the first night every year," said Snape bitterly.

"And you know this how?" I said. When he didn't reply, I added, "Stalker."

"Can't we get this over with?" He whined.

"Can't I sit for a moment?" I whined back. "My feet are killing me!"

"Fine," he said and sat down beside me. I yawned once more, and I assume I fell asleep, as I didn't remember anything else until fourty minutes later, when I sat up and looked at my watch: 2:36.

I put my hand on my head, and my hair felt oddly... greasy. I turned to where Snape had sat, and there he still was, fast asleep. We'd both fallen asleep! I ignored the mark on the shoulder of his jacket which was clearly the shape of my head.

"Oi, Snape!" I said, shaking him awake, "We fell asleep! It's almost 3 am!"

"We did?!" He bolted up-right and looked around sharply. "It is?!"

"No, Snape," I said sarcastically, "I'm just saying so because I'm a git. Of course we did!"

"Well," he said, standing up and taking one large step away from me while looking at the grease marks in my hair, "I'm going to bed then."

"Goodnight," I said politely, as I'd been brought up to say goodnight to everyone, everynight.

"Eh," he said, waving his arm.

Git, I thought.

Around 3, I had plopped into bed, but didn't get to sleep until 5:50. Now, at 6:15, my alarm went off. I groaned and shut it off. I hated to do it, but I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower, got dressed, and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hufflepuff's table was next to Ravenclaw, so I sat pretty close to a friend of mine, Xenophilius Lovegood. I called him Phil for short.

"Phil!" I hissed, and he turned around.

"What, Brill?" he asked.

"Do I have circles under my eyes?" I asked.

"Not that I can se-.." Phil started, but stopped in mid-sentence, "Oh, now I see it! Yeah, you do. Real bad. Did the nargles keep you up?"

"I had patrol late last night," I replied, "I slept more there than in my room."

"Nice," he said, then his eyes flickered from me to his food back again.

"Just eat," I said, then turned back to my spot. I heard a "thank you" and then the ripping of the toast that had sat in front of him.

I turned around and ate my own meal. From my seat I could see Gryffindor table, and I waved at my friend, Alice. My moronic brother thought, or pretended to think, I was waving at him, and he exclaimed, "Hello, sister dearest!" as he waved back boldly. I put my face in my hands.

"Sit down, Prongs!" Moony begged, "You're embarrassing her."

"Yes, I know!" He replied loudly, "I'm quite aware that I am embarassing my little sister!"

I sat up and laughed like I'd never laughed before. Then I shouted, "Nice try, but you aren't embarassing me! You're embarassing yourself, Jamie!" The whole Hall erupted with laughter, and James sat down, red in the face. I smiled, victorious.

I happened to glance over at the Slytherin table, where even Snape was laughing. He caught me looking and I turned away, what, blushing? Why did I blush? It was only stupid Snape, not like it was someone attractive. Well, that's not true. Besides the greasy hair, Snape was kind of attractive.... Wait..! Ew! What was I thinking?! I couldn't resist turning back, and I saw him smirking. Again, I blushed and looked away. What was wrong with me?!

After breakfast, I had potions, so, gladly, I walked to Slughorn's class room. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten I took a seventh year level potions class. With the Slytherins and Gryffindors. Lucky me. I stood, waiting for the assigned seats at the partners to be paired up.

The last four people standing were me, Snape, Lily, and my brother. It drove him wild that I was in his class, by the way. I took a lot of his classes, actually. In any case, we were the last four.

"And let's have Miss Evans sit with..." Professor Slughorn began. I wasn't the only one to cross my fingers; James and Snape also both wanted to sit by Lily. "Potter."

"Yes!" James erupted and began walking to the seat next to Lily.

"I meant Miss Potter, Mr. Potter," Slughorn corrected. James hung his head.

I stuck my tongue out as I passed him, and I heard him mutter, "I'll get you."

I mouthed, "I know." and smiled.

I plopped myself down next to Lily, who grinned at me, obviously relieved she didn't have to sit by Prongs or Snape. I was glad not to sit with either of them, as well, but I might have liked her sitting with James. Not because I wanted to sit with Snape, because I most surely didn't, but because James had fancied her for a long, long time. I hoped she's come around.

A few minutes into class, I nudged her with my elbow. I did so repeatedly until she whispered to me.

"What?" she asked quietly, careful not to get caught talking.

"How come you won't go out with my brother?" I said, equally quiet.

"Because he's a toerag," she hissed back.

"Not anymore so much," I reminded her.

"Well, I admit he's gotten better..." she said, "But he's still a git."

"Yeah, but he's less of a git than most the other guys in school," I said in a whisper.

"Miss Potter, please stop disturbing our lovely Miss Evans and let her work," Slughorn scolded, and I heard my brother and Padfoot, who sat two rows behind me next to Remus, stifle a laugh.

Potions came to a close and most of the students stampeded out of the classroom. Standing in the dust still was me, Moony, and Lily.

Remus turned to Lily and said out-of-the-blue, "James really fancies you, you know. A lot. You should give him a chance."

Lily turned, her shoulder facing him. "James Potter is an ignorant toerag of a boy. I'm not suprised he's never even had a girlfriend in seven years of schooling."

"Because he's been waiting for you, Lily," Remus said softly.

"Yeah, he's not like Sirius," I added, "Sirius'll date anything that moves. James knows that the right girl would get away if he did that."

"He could have any girl in the school," Remus agreed, "But he wants you, Lily."

"I-.." Lily stuttered. "I don't care!" With that, she walked away in a huff. Remus then looked at me.

"So," he said, raising an eyebrow, "Snape?"

"Huh?!" I said, taken aback. I laughed awkwardly. "What are you talking about, Moony, you crazy boy?"

"Caught you staring at him at breakfast," he shrugged, "You blushed. And you stared at his arse as he left."

"Did not!" I said, my cheeks going bright red.

He raised his eyebrow again in response.

"Tell anyone, and you're a deadman," I scowled, then walked away to my next class. I looked back once and saw Moony's smirking face.

"Idiot Moony..." I grumbled to myself. "Doesn't have a bloody idea what he's talking about.."  
***** 


	2. OneSided Affection

The rest of that day creeped by slowly. I excelled passed all the other students in my other classes, as they were all sixth year level classes. Professor MgGonagall even noted that I "might be moved up" during the year. Once classes were over, I trudged to the Hufflepuff common room to get changed; The first full day of school and practice already? God, was our captain trying to kill us? Oh wait, I was captain. Why I gave us practice that day, I will never know.

Throwing on my Beater robes wasn't the part that took so long. Fixing my mess of hair was the tricky part. I guess that was one quality I shared with James: Messy, uncontrolable hair. Giving up in frustration, I just snapped a hair-tie in my curls and it obeyed, staying out of my face and rolling down my back. I slipped into my shoes and ran to practice.

Another thing I will never know is why I schedualed practice so soon after classes ended. I hardly had given myself an hour to prepare. And not only was this practice, but try-outs, as well. We'd lost not only lost one of our Chasers, but also our other Beater. Our Keeper was injured and would be out most the season. That part was a shame. The Chaser who had graduated had always been quite friendly to me. The Beater, not so much, but I delt with him.

"Oi, captain Potter!" called one of my teammates as I ran over. He said "captain" bitterly, as he thought he should've held that position. "You're late for your own practice!"

"I'm very aware of that, Smith," I snapped back, then softened a little. "Team members, thank you for attending this practice. Hopefuls, thank you for coming."

"You're quite welcome," Smith muttered, and I glared at him, then, once again, softened.

"Bones, Smith, get talking to the Chaser hopefuls. Take them over and sit them beneath the rings," I instructed, and Amiela Bones, our Chaser, nodded. Smith, our other chaser, glared, but nodded, as well. "Tell them all of our rules and such."

"Diggory, since you've got nothing to do," I added, looking at Amos, our Seeker, "Inform those Gryffindor gits who are walking our way in uniform that we've got permission to use the field." Amos saluted me, and I rolled my eyes and he took off towards the Gryffindors who were, of course, led by my brother.

"McLaggen, you may be injured," I said to our hurt Keeper, "But you've still got to help pick out your replacement. Take them up to the rings to lecture them about 'Proper Keeping Techniques' or whatever." He glared at me, but did so.

I stood with the hopeful Beaters. There was three. I prayed one of them was good. One was a first year boy called Zeller. Another, a second year girl named Finch, and a second year boy named Jones.

"All right, kiddies," I began, "We-.."

"I tried to get 'em to go away," Diggory interupted, the Gryffindors right behind him, "But they wouldn't leave.."

"Hey, Brilly!" said James perkily, "Nice to see ya! Get off of our field."

"James Potter!" I yelled, punching him in the arm as hard as I could, "This is our field, we've got permission!"

"Permission, she says!" Sirius chuckled as James rubbed the arm I struck. I forgot Sirius was on the team now. James put him on two years ago when he became captain. No suprise there. "Show her the slip!"

"What slip?" I asked. James answered by showing me a piece of paper which I read outloud. "I, Professor Minerva MgGonagall, hereby give the Gryffindors permission to practice today."

James smirked. Sirius chuckled. The other Gryffindors just sort of stood there. Diggory shrugged in apology.

"Wow, Jamie," I said, smirking as well, "You really did your homework on this one." I pulled a folded piece of paper out of my pocket, "But I'm afraid you won't be practicing."

"I, Professor Pomona Sprout, hereby give the Hufflepuffs permission to use the field," James read.

"Guess you'll be leaving," I said confidentally. "Yours just says 'permission to practice'. Ours says we get the field. You'll have to practice somewhere else."

"That's not fair!" James shouted, "The time on the slip says ours was signed first!"

"Well, we got here first!" I shouted back.

"Could I maybe help here?" said Professor Dumbledore, who none of us had seen or heard walk over and stand behind Sirius. Sirius hadn't even noticed that Dumbledore had placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, Sir," said James, "Our slip says we have permission to practice, and it was signed before theirs."

"Ah," said Dumbledore, "Sounds reasonable that the Gryffindors should play."

"But, Sir!" I protested, "Our slip says we have permission to use the field, and we arrived first."

All was silent for a moment. "Well," he said in a jolly old tone, "Why not have a scrimmage?"

"But this is our try-outs!" I said, "We don't know who's good yet!"

"Ours, too!" James said.

"No better way to find out," said Dumbledore with a wink, "than to put them to the test."

Dumbledore decided to be our referee. I called down my team for a last-second talk.

"All right," I whispered to my huddled teammates. "Zenner, w-.."

"Zenner, you're sitting first. We're going to start Jones," McLaggen interupted, "As for Chasers, we-.."

"Excuse me!" I said, smacking the back of his head, "Who's captain?"

"....You..."

"All right," I said, "Then let me do my job! Zenner, you're starting. Abbot, you'll be our first Chaser we try. You others will be put in and out through-out the game. The rest of you lot, you'll be in your regular positions." I turned to Amiela. "I assume you told them our different plays?"

"Most of them, yeah," She replied.

I said which plan we'd use in a hushed tone, then added louder, "Go!"

As we walked to our brooms, I pulled Zenner aside.

"What is it, Captain?" he asked politely.

"Y'just looked nervous," I smiled caringly.

"A little," Zenner replied honestly.

"Don't be," I said, "You'll be fine. Better than fine, I expect."

"Thanks," he said.

"If you can," I added with a wink before taking off to get my broom, "Aim at my brother's big fat head!"

The game was close. Stupid James had nearly caught the Snitch five times already, and no Seeker I put in could get anywhere near! Getting desperate, and quite outright furious, I sent a Bludger at James' massive head. Unfortunately, it hit its target. Down, off of his broom, my brother fell. He was obviously unconsious, and I cringed at what I thought would be a messy ending. But right before he hit the ground, he floated in the air, then landed down safely.

The whole game ceased and everyone flew down. Dumbledore hadn't even touched his wand, so I questioned whether or not he did anything.

"Wasn't me," Dumbledore said with a laugh.

"Then.... who...?" I strained for words.

"Well, did you expect me to let him just fall?" said Lily Evans, walking out of the darkness of a trees shadow. "I'm honestly suprised you didn't react, yourself."

"I didn't think.." was all I could stutter.

"Yes, I think that was obvious!" Sirius snapped at me. He obviously saw that I had sent the Bludger.

"P-Padfoot..." I started, then just turned to Lily. "Wait, why didn't you let him die? You hate my brother."

She shrugged. "Just felt like it."

"Or you're in love with me, Evans," James said, sitting up weakly.

"You wish, Potter," Lily said, shoving him back down so he was laying across the grass.

"Heh," James laughed, patting the ground next to him, "Lie with me?"

"No!" she said, then walked away in a huff, muttering, "Why did I bother save him?"

"Because you're in love with me!" James called after her, waving his left arm and blowing kisses.

"Disgusting behavior, Prongs," said Sirius, but then winked at Faolan Lupin, Remus' sister, who was my year and a Gryffindor Seeker. She rolled her eyes, but still had trouble not blushing.

"Dirty Hypocrite," James muttered. Then he looked up at me. "We won, you know."

"No you didn't," I scoffed, "Nobody won."

He opened his right hand and revealed the Snitch. "We won," he said again.

I punched his arm lightly. "Git," I laughed.

Sirius was still looking at Faolan. "Hey, quit staring at my sister, Padfoot!" Remus commaded, snapping his book shut. He'd been watching in the stands.

"Well, it's not my fault you've got a gorgeous sister, mate!" Sirius laughed, and Remus glared at him.

"Stick in the mud.." Faolan muttered.

"Hey, all of this is beside the point!" James pouted, "I thought the point was me being hurt? I could've died, after all!"

"Hey, James," I said, poking his forehead, "Maybe if you deflated that big thing on your shoulders, Evans would go out with you."

James glared at me. "Well, perhaps, as the game has been won," Dumbledore suggested, "We should all be returning to our normal activities?" With that, he headed back to his corridors. My Hufflepuff housemates all disappeared, mostly going to sit around and do nothing. Most of the Gryffindors went to the same.

"...I'm going to bed," I said after a moment of silence was shared by me, James, Sirius, Remus, and Faolan.

"Oh, don't go, Brill," James whined.

"Yeah, we could use some help!" Sirius beamed. "We're going to prank Snivelly!"

"Again?" I asked stupidly. "Didn't you already dye his hair purple?"

Faolan laughed, then said, "Yes, they did."

"We could use some help," Sirius said again, "So far it's me, Prongs, and Faolan. Ole' Moony won't help us!"

"Because I disapprove of your immature behavior," Remus said, making it sound obvious, "As always. You three never behave. Honestly, Faolan, Mum thinks your such a nice girl!"

"Got her fooled, haven't I?" Faolan laughed her head off. Remus glared disapprovingly.

"I guess I'll come," I sighed, "But I'm not helping!"

Sirius was shocked. James went pale. "Why not?!" they demanded in unison.

I shrugged. "Don't want to."

"But you always loved helping us screw up Snivelly's disgusting features!" Sirius sputtered.

"What's wrong with you?!" James accused.

"What's wrong with me?!" I half-shrieked. "What's wrong with you?! Just because I'm not acting like a first year anymore, something's wrong with me?!" I stormed away angrily.

"...What's with Brill?" I heard James ask of no one particularly.

"She's got issues," Sirius whispered loudly.

Days of the year went by. Before I knew it, it was Halloween. James had, I think, unintentionally taken my advice. He still screwed with Snape, but he did act just a bit more mature, and Lily did talk to him just a bit more often. I'd fallen deeper into this odd crush I had on Snape. So much so that I could no longer look him in the eyes. When I was paired with him in Defense Against the Darks Arts class, (I'd been moved up a class as I was so much more advanced than the rest of the sixth years) I could hardly keep myself from running out of the room. The second class had ended, I had bolted straight out. So much that I'd given up fighting against it. So much, I thought I loved him.

Tonight, Halloween, and everyone had worn a costume. No one, as Dumbledore declared, was allowed to take their costume off until bedtime. And, as he decided, for this party, we were allowed up after hours.

I stood in front of my mirror, spinning around, examining myself from all angles, as I dried my hair. For this night, I'd chosen to do something crazy; dye my hair. True, this dye was supposed to wear off around one the next morning, but for now, being bottle-blonde and unrecognizable was just what I wanted. I wore a black mask that covered just my eyes and the area around, and black high-heels that were nearly four inches high. The short black dress I wore was much lower cut than James would be happy about, not that he would know I was wearing it; I had told him and his friends that I wasn't going. The black wings strapped onto my back completed my bat costume. I was planning on going full-blast party-mode. Tonight, I was no one. I had no identity. I was nameless.

I left my dorm and Hufflepuff common room, then walked to the Great Hall, in which the party was being held. I imediately spotted Xenophilius, who was wearing something unrecognizeable.

"Xenophilius," I asked, "What are you wearing?"

"I happen to be a nargle," said he with a wink, "And you are?"

I slapped him across the face. "It's me, you fool!"

He jumped in realization. "Oh! Sorry, Brilliance. You look nice."

"Yeah, I've noticed," I said. I bit my bottom lip, having something I wanted to ask, but didn't want to say. "...Hey, Phil?"

"Yes, Brill?" Xenophilius asked with another wink, but this one wasn't a flirt. This was his little way of recognizing our inside joke. Phil and Brill. We always found it funny.

"So there's this boy..." I started, chewing hard on my lip.

"Say no more, say no more," said he, "How can I help?"

"Tell me what to do," I suggested, "That'd be helpful. He hates me..."

"Well, you're so well dressed," Phil said, "I didn't even recognize you. Maybe he won't either. If he doesn't, you could get away with snogging him." He winked, this time suggestingly.

I hit him, then stared into space, lost in thought. "Thanks," I said.

"They don't call me Lovegood for nothing!" He grinned.

Rolling my eyes, I walked off, but I bumped into something hard.

"Ouch!" said the hard thing. It grinned. It was Sirius.

"Oh, hello Si-..." I started, then got distracted by his costume, "What are you wearing?!"

"Y'like?" he said, pushing up the breasts in his dress. He had a long, black dress that was cut even lower than mine. He curled his slightly long hair into a mess.

"What are you supposed to be, exactly?" I had to ask.

"My dearest cousin," Padfoot laughed, "I'm Bellatrix!"

I couldn't help but laugh, too.

"What a pretty dress you've got on, my dear," said Sirius, taking my hand and helping me up.

"...What the...?!" I began, but cut myself off by spitting out different words and ripping my hand out of his, "Don't touch me, Sirius!"

"But I like it!" he whined. "What's your name, anyway, doll?"

"....You're disgusting!" I spat, "And besides, you've got a girlfriend, haven't you? Not officially, of course, but I've seen you with Faolan!"

"She's not my girlfriend..." Sirius said, "She's just... a friend."

I smacked him, then walked away, angrily. It wasn't until after I'd crossed the room that I remembered I didn't look like me. And I thought he was just being a git!

My thoughts were instantly changed. My eyes had caught the gray eyes of Severus Snape, and he was walking towards me. I closed my eyes and held my breath.

"Excuse me?" he said, "Do I know you? I've never seen a girl with such.. vibrant hair, and I'd have assumed by my seventh year I knew everyone."

"My name..." I said thoughtlessly, "is Fiora Lexelle. I just transferred here from Beauxbaton's. If you're wondering, I don't have an accent because my mum's English."

"Ahh, I see," said Severus, turning to leave, "Well, Miss Lexelle, enjoy this Halloween here at Hogwa-.."

"I'd enjoy it more," I said breathlessly, "if you stayed with me."

He turned around. "What did you say?"

I wrapped my small hand in his bigger one. "Stay with me. Please."

"...All... right..." he said, not sure what to do. I smiled.

"Good," I said, then, having already thrown caution to the wind, kissed his cheek.

This is going to be a night to remember, I thought. *****

It was Midnight. I was strolling outside with Severus. He didn't know who I really was. He thought I was some French girl. Yes, we were walking hand-in-hand, and yes, everything we talked about had us laughing our lungs out, but it was only one night, this night. I couldn't pretend to be Fiora Lexelle forever. I'd have to go back to being Brilliance Potter eventually. I dreaded the sound of my own name.

Suddenly, we heard giggling. Severus' head snapped in its direction. I, too, knew that voice. Lily Evans was near.

How could I have been so stupid? I saw the way his head went up when he heard her voice! How could I have thought my brown (now blonde) curls could compete with those fiery waves? How could my plain, dead, brown eyes even compare to the wonderful green-eyed girl that was Lily Evans? I hated her at this moment. Most girls hated her because she got the affection of the "marvelous James Potter." I hated her because she had the love of the wonderful Severus Snape.

"Cut it out!" she giggled from behind a bush, "It tickles!"

Then the giggling stopped. I leaned over the bush to see what was going on. There sat Lily Evans, but she wasn't alone by any means; she was in the arms of James. And they were snogging!

"You honestly don't want to look..." I whispered cautiously, "It's just a girl and..."

"Lily!" he gasped in horror.

"You looked..." I muttered.

Lily and James ignored Severus completely. They were in their own little world.

"Come on," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him away. That was too sharp of a blow for him.

"Lily...!" he sputtered. "She was..! She just...! Potter..!"

"Calm down, Severus," I said, squeezing his hand lightly, "It's ok."

"No it's not!" Severus practically screamed as we stood under the tree next to the lake. "I-I thought she had better judgement than that! We used to be best friends!"

"I'm sorry," was all I could think to say, "I know you never meant to call her a Mudblood a couple years ago.. James provoked you..."

He stopped sulking a moment and looked at me in confusion. "How did you know that?" he asked, "You only just transferred here.."

I'd been caught. Time to give it up right?

Wrong.

"I just... y'know..." I tried to say, but nothing I could think of sounded right. Under my mask, tears that were black with make-up ran down my cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" He asked stupidly.

"Look, Severus!" I answered quickly, the words I said hardly possible to make out, "I know the only girl you'll ever have feelings for is Lily but I can't take this anymore! Severus Snape, I love you!"

I wasn't in control of myself anymore. Other wise, I wouldn't have done what I did next; I kissed him.

I had to stretch onto my toes to reach, as I was just under average height, and he was rather tall. In fact, I think I pulled him down to my level. It was very wet because I'd been, and possibly still was, crying. I tried so hard, this kiss meaning so many things. To me, at least. It probably meant nothing but a headache to him, I didn't know.

I'm assuming he was in shock, because he neither pulled away nor kissed me back. Frustrated, I kissed harder, and his eyes widened. Eventually, I ran out of air and had to pull away to breathe. When I did so, he stumbled backwards.

"..N-..no!" he stuttered, "Th-this can't be.. You're..!"

I glanced down at my reflection in the water. My hair was once again brown, and my mask was probably lost somewhere on the grounds.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered helplessly. I didn't know what else to say.

"Potter's sister..?!" he demanded of the wind.

"Yes," I replied quietly. "I can't help it."

Severus didn't speak. His face was very pale now, and I was completely terrified of what would happen.

"...Well?" I said stupidly, "What, er, happens now?"

"Now, Potter kills me," Severus said solonmly, "More so than usual."

"Oh, is he what this is about?" I asked. "Severus, don't worry about him! For all he knows, I'm in my dorm, asleep. I told him I wasn't coming tonight. He doesn't have to know anything. We don't have to tell him, Severus."

"Just not tell him that we-..." he started, but changed his sentence, "that you kissed me?!"

"Yep," I said plainly, "It's as simple as that. Honest, it is. I said it once and I guess I'll say it again: I love you." The next part I never realized until now: "I love you, I always loved you, and I always will love you. The end." I grabbed his hand and squeezed affectionately.

He pulled away. "I'm going to bed," Severus said quite coldly, "Goodnight, Brilliance." Without a furthur word, he walked away. True, he'd just walked away from me after I'd told him I loved him, but all I could think about was that he used my first name. It'd always been Potter this or Potter that. Brilliance never sounded so good.

I sat down on the ground, took off my heels, and draped my legs into the lake water. An irreversable smile played on my lips. Never had I felt so good. So alive. ***** 


	3. Babysitting on Christmas

**A/N: Yeah, it's short, but, hey, it's a goodie, right?**

I traced circles into the water of the lake with my foot and watched the water ripple. Breathlessly, I let my thoughts wander to Severus. What I told him had been true; I loved him, I had always loved him, and I would always love him. It was as simple as that. I considered introspectively about how I could make him love me instead of Lily. Lily had been his best friend for years, and I'd been his enemy. Then again, Lily and James had been enemies, but they weren't anymore. Obviously, they were quite a bit better than that. I sighed, a quiet pleasure still present.

"Brilliance!" an all-too familiar voice called behind me. I spun around face-to-face with my brother James.

"What is it, James?" I asked, annoyed he'd interupted my reverie.

"What are you doing out here?!" he demanded, "You said you would be in your dorm tonight!"

"Yeah, well," I said coldly, "I lied. Deal with it."

James blinked. "I'll pretend you didn't say that."

"How's Lily?" I wiggled an eyebrow.

"Wonderful, thank you!" he said, a huge grin spreading across his face. "She and I are so very close."

"Yeah, I saw," I muttered.

"Yep, she's amazing," James said dreamily.

"Ugh," I groaned, "I don't want to hear it about it! I'm a girl, remember? That's what guy mates are for!"

"Right, sorry," he teased, "Mistook you for one."

"How can you mistake me for a guy in this dress?!" I laughed. James twitched as he looked over my outfit.

"Sorta..." he began, "Revealing, don't you find?"

"Eh," I shrugged. "Mum has lower dre-.."

"Ew!" James interupted, "Don't put those images in my head, Helen Brilliance Potter!"

"Don't first-name me!" I hissed, "I hate my first name!"

"Helen is a wonderful name!" he said positively.

"It's so dreadfully plain!" I whined, "I'm not plain! I'm crazy and unexpected like a Brilliance!"

"Whatever, Hele-..." he started, but I cut him off.

"James Harry Potter, I will kill you if you say my name," I warned.

"Fine," he sighed, and I breathed out in relief until he added, "So what were you doing with Snivelly?" which stopped my breath.

"Nothing!" I said a bit too quickly. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"I saw you and him pass by," James said, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"We, er, had prefect duties," I lied. "Off schedule. Did it for respect of the school and such."

"Oh..." said James, then shrugged. "Okay. I'm going to go find Lily." With that, he walked away, shouting, "Oh, Lily, dear!" as he took each step. *****

Severus started ignoring me. He didn't even come to the classes I was in, but Remus told me was in all the others. I felt a stab of pain every day he was absent from my sight. It was a whole week before he turned up again. When he did, it was for Potions class. He was the last one in the room, and the first one out. No chance to talk. As it was with all the times I saw him until December.

Christmas was a few days away, so everyone who was leaving was packed. I had my suitecase in hand, walking towards the Marauders, when I saw him. Instantly, I made a direct turn and went in his direction. He started to get up, but I begged him not to.

"Please, Severus," I pleaded, "Don't walk away from me anymore. I can't stand it!"

He sat back down. "What is it?" he asked.

"Y-you've been avoiding me," I choked, tears whelling up in my eyes. "Why?"

Severus looked around, like he was looking for an excuse to leave. "Ah, I'm sorry, I must go. It appears Narcissa Black could use a hand." He left before I could remind him he didn't really like Narcissa.

Hanging my head, I went over and joined my brother and his mates. Remus asked me what was wrong, but I knew he knew the answer. He was either just being polite or trying to convince me to tell James what was wrong.

Or both.

"Guess what, Brilli!" James said happily. "We aren't going home for Christmas!"

"We aren't?!" I asked in a shriek, "Where are we going?"

"James is going to Lilyflower's house," Sirius chuckled, "And your mum doesn't trust him alone."

"I'm going to Lily's to babysit you?" I laughed at James.

"Shut up, Brill," he said, punching me lightly. I punched him harder. "Ow!"

"Maybe I don't want to shut up," I teased.

"Maybe I'll make you," James threatened.

"Maybe you two are knuckleheads," Sirius added happily.

Remus chuckled. "Maybe you're not one to talk, Sirius."

"Maybe this is the most idiotic conversation I've ever heard," Lily sighed.

"Oh, don't worry!" I promised, "There'll be much stupider ones."

"You can count on it!" Padfoot agreed.

"Oh, I'm so very anxious," Lily laughed. "Well, James, Brilliance, we should be off..."

"Wait!" Sirius said suddenly, "Where am I going this Christmas if Prongs isn't home?!"

"You're staying here, Sirius," Remus said.

"I can't go to your house or Wormtail's?!" Sirius protested.

"Sirius, Peter's not going home, either," Moony replied, "And my parents won't let you anywhere near my house after what happened last time!"

"But I loved last time!" Padfoot pouted.

"What happened last time, dare I ask?" Lily asked.

"He came over to my house, what was it, second weekend of this November?" Remus said, "And he..!"

"I almost shagged his sister," Sirius said with a large grin. "Ol' Moony's still sour with me."

"Why almost?" James had to ask.

"Ah," Sirius replied with a simple shrug, "His dad walked in the room and started beating me with a cane..."

"Your dad doesn't use a cane," I said directly to Remus, "He doesn't even limp."

"He bought it after Faolan's fourteenth birthday," Remus sighed with his eyes closed in frustration, "special for cases like these."

"Oh," I said sortly, "How dreadful for you. Come on now, James! Lead the way, Lily!"

She always did. *****

"Merry Christmas, my dea-..!" Lily's father began as he opened the door. He grew less excited and more annoyed as he glanced at James. "Who's the boy, Lily?"

"Err..." Lily stuttered. As it turned out, Lily hadn't told her parents we were coming. How very un-Lily-like.

"I'm James Harry Potter, Sir!" said James with a smile, "I'm Lily's bo-.."

"Friend!" Lily interupted by slapping her hand over James' mouth. "He was going to say friend, Dad!"

"Boyfriend?!" Her father exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Evans," I said, poking my head in between Lily and James, "I'm here to watch James. I'm his sister, Brilliance."

"...All right," he grumbled, "Come in.." We did so.

"Wow, Lily," a brown-haired girl spat, "You've gotten friends besides the Snape boy?!" She laughed a shrill laugh.

"This happens to be my boyfriend, Petunia," Lily scowled, "His name is James."

"Then who's the girl?" Petunia asked rudely, "His other girlfriend?"

"Ew!" I couldn't help but exclaim. "He's my brother!"

"Petunia, what's going on?" asked a lumpy man who walked into the kitchen. He was very unattractive, and I couldn't understand why Petunia kissed him when he came in.

"Dursley!?" Lily shouted, "What are yo-.."

"Lily, we're getting married," Petunia grinned. "The wedding is in March. You're my maid of honor." When Lily began to smile, Petunia added, "This is only so because I have no girl friends."

"Whatever," Lily replied, "What am I wearing?"

I rolled my eyes. "Leave it to Lily to ask one question: 'What do I wear?'"

"Hey, it's a very important question!" Lily shot back, looking angry, but then just laughing.

James sighed, "Ahh, a Christmas to remember, I see." He looked at Dursley. "Though, I could probably live without the pig-man being here..."

**A/N: Hey, see tht button? That button that says, "Review"? Click it! Type, "I have an idea," and then private message me your ideas. Because, alas, I am only one girl, and I do require help sometimes..**


	4. The Events of Christmas Day

**A/N: If you've got a problem envolving my OC, Snape, and a love potion, please proceed to skip this chapter. It won't really matter to the story I don't think...**

"Brill, get up!" shouted Lily as she poked me stubbornly, "It's almost afternoon already! And it's Christmas!" I threw a pillow at her head and rolled over.

"Wake up!" she commanded, "I'm serious!" (Wasn't that just asking for it? I think it was.)

"Sirius?" I said dazily, still half-asleep, "You're not Sirius. Yoooooooooou're Lily Evans, future Mrs. Potter. I'm Brill Potter, future Mrs-.."

"Snap out of it!" Lily interupted, hitting me with the pillow I threw at her and snapping me awake. I was glad she did. Other wise, I may have said Mrs. Snape. I would have had a lot of explaining to do then.

"Go away, Lily," I groaned, "I'm... not dressed." Feeling smart, I tucked myself in deeper in the blankets.

"Tough," she said, then ripped off the blankets that were on top of me. I shivered once, then glared at her.

"You're cold," I growled unhappily, displeased that she could be cruel enough to freeze me half to death.

"No, technically, you're cold," Lily grinned, giggling at her own joke.

"...That was a horrible joke, Lily," I said, but still, I laughed.

"Well, get going!" she instructed, then left. I crawled down from bed (Lily had a bunkbed in her room as she used to share with her sister, I had slept on top) and changed into some jeans and a silver tank-top, topped with a sweater my mum had given me. It was hot pink with "BRILLIANCE" embroidered on the bottom left side. I scanned for my sneakers, but they seemed to be absent. With a shrug, I gave up the quest and headed downstairs. Lily, James, Petunia, and Petunia's fiance What's-His-Bucket, sat at the dining room table with food placed in front of each of them. Another plate sat in front of the empty chair next to James. His hand looked red. Lily looked angry.

"Good, you're here," said Lily, "James tried to take your breakfast."

"At our house, it's you snooze, you loose!" James whined.

"I'm not hungry," I shrugged. Before the words were even out of my mouth, James practically attacked the plate. I laughed at him, but Lily hit him, no doubt a repeat of prior events. He whimpered, but then sat quietly. Petunia snickered at how well Lily controlled him.

"So, I think I'm going to go for a walk..." I said after a few minutes.

"It's cold outside!" James stated, pretending so shiver so violently he tipped over What's-His-Bucket's milk, and it spilled all down the large man's sweater. James laughed. "S-sorry mate!" Petunia's fiancee just glared, and James's laughter died shortly.

"No, really?" I replied sarcastically, ignoring his little milk episode, "I assumed it was ninety degrees, like every December!"

"Mind which way you walk," Lily said bitterly, "Scum that lives down the road might bother you."

"All right, I'll watch out," I said, then left. I didn't bother grab a jacket. My sweater was thick enough, right? Wrong. I trekked through the foot-high snow as the cold wind tore across my face. My hair flew all around, sometimes sweeping across my eyes, sometimes blowing behind my head. It never managed to cover my entire face, though. The advantages of having short hair. I wandered down to the west end of the road, and happened to look up at one of the houses. A boy was shoveling a walk-way from the sidewalk to his house. Actually, boy wasn't the right word. He was more than a boy, but just slightly less than a man, seeming just a year or so older than I. Remembering my manners, I called to the boy.

"Hello!" I smiled, stuttering because of the frost, "H-Happy Christmas!" The boy spun around, and, as fate would have it, I was facing Severus Snape. Ever had that happen? Just being a nice person to find it was the man or lady you love you were being nice to? No? Just me? Irony, cruel irony.

"Brilliance Potter..." he half-mumbled, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"James and I came to L-Lily's house for Ch-christmas," I tried to shrug, but my shoulders had half-frozen, "I w-went for a walk. I didn't kn-know you live here!"

He opened his mouth to speak, but I laughed suddenly. His question changed to, "What is so funny?"

"I-I just realized wh-why I'm so c-cold!" I giggled, then lifted up one foot. It was still bare. I'd forgotten to put on shoes. The stupidity I expressed caused a surprised look to gather on Severus's face. He just stood there, looking at me, probably thinking how stupid I was. I added, "Could I c-come in?"

"Sure," he said, shaking his head to knock out the suprise. He dropped his shovel (quite loudly, actually) and led me inside. His house was the quite the opposite of what I had expected. The whole living room was brown and wooden except the coffee table, which had a white frame and glass for the table surface. The couch had wooden support of course, but the cushions were also white. As were the curtains, I noticed. I glanced into his kitchen just to see if it was wooden as well. It wasn't; the entire room was black and metallic. On the refridgerator was a note from his parents explaining their absence. A large, shimmering island sat in the middle of the black-and-white title floor. It was connected to the dining room, which was also a matching black.

"Just, erm, sit somewhere," said Severus uncomfortably, "But be careful, if you tarnish anything, believe me, my parents will know of it" -he sighed- "and I shall be punished." He slipped down into a large chair, one that matched the couch, near were I was. His hair slid over his eyes, and he blew up to move them away.

"Sounds like you're parents are rough, huh?" I asked softly, caringly, understandingly. I remembered the short spell of time during which my parents had fought like cats and dogs. The fainted reminder of this time period sent shivers down my spine, and so shivers ran down at this exact time.

"Yes, but speak nothing of it," Severus replied quickly. "I do not wish others to hear of it. And besides, no one needs to know of my house's location." Though a look which told me of the true regret hidden in his words crossed his eyes, these are the words that had been spoken; Severus hated living in a muggle neighborhood, especially since his incident with Lily. Awkwardly, my hand fumbled around inside my pocket. My fingers brushed over a bottle, and I pulled it out carefully so Severus would not see. The bottle had been my potions project: a love potion, and one of the strongest. The kind that smelled like the most lovely scent to each individual person.

"Hey, Severus?" said I quietly, "I've got my potion for class in my jacket pocket. I've been having a tiny bit of trouble, so could you tell me if I've done it right?" I popped off the cork lid. A small puff of colorful smoke rose out of the bottle, and then my nose was filled full of loveliness. The sent was like the smell that rises into the air after an outburst of rain mixed with the slightest bit of Severus-essence. After all, though we never really notice, every person smells different. Finishing off this lovely scent was grass; grass that had just been cut, the grass of a quidditch pitch.

"I suppose," he said calmly, thinking nothing of it. I handed him the bottle and watched him inhale deepling. My best guess was that it smelled like a lily -the flower- and Lily -the girl- to him. At least, that was what I thought.

"Is it correct?" I puzzled. When he nodded, I pushed a little further. "What's it smell like?" He closed his eyes and directed his head downwards, towards the floor. I sighed, expecting to find out nothing more. He pushed a little bit of hair back again, the bit he had blown back earlier. Glancing away, I nearly jumped when he began to speak.

"Flowers," said he lowly, so low I could hardly hear after the first word. "the potions classroom, that smell after it rains something aweful.." He didn't add it, but I knew he wanted to say her name. Sometimes I hated her, what with her being so perfect and all.

"I've never seen the affects of the potion, you know," I awkwardly stated, "Slughorn hasn't showed us yet, so I've never seen..." This was my way of hinting I wanted him to drink it. No, none of this was planned, it was all spur-of-the-moment. Severus considered the options for a moment (drink it, don't drink it) then, with a shrug, held the bottle to his lips and let all of its contents drip down his throat. And then, his expression changed. His eyes grew focused, fixed on just me. His body language grew more positive. His lips even tucked up into an unfamiliar smile, one that no one had seen but Lily Evans years before. Still maintaining the smile, his mouth wrapped around each syllable as he sighed one word, just one word. "Brilliance..."

He began to practically float towards me and, suprised at the strong effects, I started to back up until I backed into the wall. His lips crashed suddenly down on mine, his arms tangling themselves around my body. True, it was all falsified affection, and true, he would never feel this way on his own, but I could not help myself. I deepened the kiss, wrapping my own arms around his neck tightly, though still letting him think he had control of the situation. Regret would come later, I subconsiously knew, but I didn't care. I was, for once, happy. Well, more than happy; electrified is a better word. After all, I wasn't exactly thinking about any of these things. I wasn't thinking at all. He cleared my mind completely. Still locked in the kiss, we (or rather, him caring me) somehow moved. Where we were going, I wasn't sure, nor did I care. I half-heard something fragile fall over and smash, but who really cared? Then we fell, perhaps a foot it felt like, but I didn't even notice. Everything in my brain was black, ineffective. My common sense was frozen in the back of my mind.

When my mind was finally functioning like a normal human beings, I was in a bed, just waking up. I stretched out my arms and sighed. So it was all a dream... I thought. I noticed I was only in my underwear, which was odd, because I was sure I had gone to sleep in clothes. And the bedroom I was in looked unfamiliar, but I shrugged, figuring it was just because I wasn't used to Lily's bedroom.

"Goodmorning, Love," smiled Severus beside me. I hadn't noticed he was there. In shock, I nearly tumbled off the bed. When he added affectionately, "Well, it's technically afternoon, huh?" It was then when I realized this was really happening. I was in his room. He was shirtless. I was practically nude. That was when I fell off the side.

"Brilliance?... Brilliance?" he sang, looking around as if I'd just vanished. Then he glanced over to where I had actually fallen. "Ah, there you are. What are you doing down there?" I jumped up and backed away from Severus, thinking about what I had done. All this just because I couldn't control myself.

"I-...You're still asleep, Severus. This is a dream," I thought fast and spoke in a soothing voice. I grabbed a few ingredients from his potion set, sturred, then handed him a cup. "Drink this, and when you wake up, everything will be normal."

"Mmmm, okay," he sighed, then did as I told him. The potion I made not only put him back to sleep, but would reverse the love potions affects when he had awaken. Then I had the horrible task of explaining what had happened. After jumping into my clothes, I found a piece of notebook paper and a pencil, scribbled down a note (so I didn't have to explain in person),

I tried to run. As if running could reverse what had happened. I ran, but was pulled back; my shirt caught on a table and ripped a piece off, leaving a fist-sized hole in my shirt. Through eyes blurring with panic and remorse, I saw a flash of world as I ran through the house, knocking over a vase, which shattered. My sweater I snatched as I ran through the door, into the cold, and back up the street. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, but how could I? Tears blurred my vision into oblivion. My run came to a hault when I ran into something. The something exclaimed in surprise a little pain. It was fleshy; it was a someone.

My head down in shame, I said, "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going... It was all my fault.. Are you okay?" I didn't look up to see who I had run into, but confusion kicked in when the shoes, for that was all I could really see, looked strangely familiar.

"Brill!" said the person, and my head snapped up. The person was James. Snow nearly completely blanketed his hair, and he should've been wearing a much thicker jacket, but then again, so should I. "Where the bloody hell were you?! Lils and me have been searching for days!"

"Don't be dramatic," Lily said, coming up behind me. Her hair was white, too, but she, much smarter than James and I, had a red-and-gold hat on with a real winter jacket, "She only left two hours ago." She rolled her eyes affectionately, playfully, and James crossed his arms in mock hurt.

"Lily! Come in side!" Petunia nagged out a window, waving an arm like she was stopping a taxi or waving down a plane. "It's cold, and if you get sick, I am not feeding you soup!" She went like that for a good three minutes as we walked inside.

The rest of the day went ordinarily, yet joyfully. Gifts were exchanged. Smiles were shared. Laughs were had, especially at James. James bought Lily a beautiful emerald pedant necklace that could only make her eyes shine even more. Lily, in return, gave James a set off quidditch balls, quaffle, bludger, and snitch, for him for practicing. In a small box labeled for Lily was my gift; delicate hoop earrings with emeralds along the hoops. (James and I worked together.) Lily handed me a slightly longer than expected, thin box, which I proceeded to rip open. Inside was an engraved beater stick that said, "H. B. Potter." Having planned ahead, I also had small gifts for Petunia, Mr. Evans, and Mrs. Evans. For her father I bought a cane, then explained the story of Remus's father's cane. He seemed to like the idea. For Mrs. Evans I had a necklace with a chain of gold and earrings. The earrings were flowers; one was a petunia, the other a lilly. Petunia's gift from me was a simple silver charm-bracelet with seven charms, each one a letter of her name. More gifts were exchanged that I didn't see, but all in all, it was a great holiday. The worst part was going back to school.

**A/N: Still got a problem with it? I WARNED YOU!**


	5. Reclusion and Remus

**A/N: Just so we're all clear, this is AU. It has:**  
**OC that is James Potter's sister and has (with help from a love-potion) fooled around with Severus Snape.**  
**If you have a problem with it, then don't read it! Also, I LIED in the A/N at the end of the last chapt, because it IS sort of important to the story...**

Winter melted away before us not too long after we returned to school. For days, weeks, even months, I couldn't face him. My cheeks went too red, and my eyes burned because I had definately experienced too much. I could feel his own eyes burning through the back of my head, staring at me, but when I did muster up enough confidence to look up, he wasn't facing me at all. I thought I must have been making it up, but as I looked away, I swore I felt it again.

When I walked from corridor to corridor in a daily routine, I burrowed my eyes into the floor, seeing only the shoes of people, and sometimes less. One day in particular, around the beginning of March, I was particularly blind with my wandering, and I bumped into someone.

"M-most sincerest apologies," I stuttered, refusing to look up. I hadn't even spoken for such a time that the quiet shyness my voice had adapted sounded foreign to my own ears. I bit my lip, sincerely hoping I wasn't bumping into anyone I knew.

"Brill?" returned the voice. Reluctantly, my eyes drifted up, and I found myself gazing into the face of Remus Lupin. "What has been wrong with you? You've been acting rather odd for a matter of time. In fact, you've not been the same since Christmastime. Did you have a bad holiday?"

"N-no, Remus, I-I've just..." I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat, and I choked on them. Quiet, pathetic-sounding coughs struggled to escape my throat, but the struggle made no helpful affect. "I've ch-changed, I suppose."

"Helen Brilliance Potter, what on Earth is your problem?" Remus asked sternly, his eyes blazing down to make contact with mine, contact I had to break else I was afraid my breathing would stop, and I would die then and there. "You've never been one to stutter or be hesitant."

"Remus, I-I don't know h-how to t-tell anyone what horrible th-things I've done," I whispered honestly. It was the simplest truth I could have told, but it felt so easy, and it made my chest feel less heavy and more like my own.

"Come on, we can talk somewhere more private than a corridor," Remus said in a brotherly manner, his arm draped across my shoulder to lead me where ever it was he was talking about. I flinched as his arm touched me; the last touch I had received had, after all, been disasterous, but from the way I was behaving, I hoped he wasn't picking up the wrong impression.

He led me down the corridor and back up another. Slowly we walked, my mind racing with thoughts, my body giving obvious language of insecurity, low confidence, and low self-esteem. Remus mulled over my body language and speaking patterns, confused by my sudden and irrational change in personality. Eventually, we arrived in a hallway that seemingly had no door. The next moment, a grand, wide door appeared in the wall, and in we went.

"The room of requirement," Remus stated, his arms grandly around him, begging my eyes to soak everything in. "If we don't want to be found or heard, there's not a better place in all of Hogwarts. Now, tell me what's been bothering you, Brilliance." His honest smile made me feel guilty for not being an amazing person like he was.

My fingers fidgeted, my mind raced, and I bit my lip, all while trying to find the words. And even after I'd found them, I had to determine what order to arrange them in. My foot tapped nervously, a habit I had never had before. I thought about Lily, and I thought about James; they would both hate me if they knew what I had done, and, even worse, they would hate Severus more, if it were possible. Incapable of admitting anything in any louder of a voice, I whispered my guilt into Remus's ear.

Remus fell back a bit in shock. "My God, Brilliance! I mean, you know you've made a mistake... I can't imagine... How can you...? James is going to...! What were you thinking?!" His jumble of words showed his true feelings underneath; he was repulsed, disgusted, and everything in that neighborhood. I thought, deep down, under his disgust, he was a little bit afraid of James's expectedly deadly reaction.

"I wasn't a-at all!" I sobbed pitifully. "I f-found I'd left the potion in my p-pocket, a-and I don't know! I d-didn't think anything c-could go so far!" Hot tears stained my face, rolling down my cheeks and leaving their trails as a reminder of how weak I was on the inside. "What d-do I do, Remus?"

"I haven't got the faintest clue," he confessed, causing my sobs to increase in rate and intensity. "Please, don't cry! You'll make yourself ill. Just calm down and sit down." He pushed a chair up to me, and I sat. He offered me a tissue, and I accepted it, drying my eyes and cleaning off my cheeks. He bit the inside of his cheek hestitantly. There was something he wanted to say, but he didn't want to upset me.

" 'Fortune's fool am I!' " I bellowed heartfully, quoting a muggle story, Romeo and Juliet, that both Remus and I had read numerously. Shakespeare was both of our mentors, and we based our own writings, be it school assignment or a story for pleasure, off of his. "Oh, Remus, y-you've got that look in y-your eye. Say what you need to say, it c-cannot possibly make this any w-worse than it already is!"

"I was just thinking about how bitterly angry James will be," Remus admitted. "He'll be furious. Especially if you're..." He went on to say a word that hadn't even crossed my mind yet, but at the sound of the word, all color fled from my face, and my blood felt hot, yet I myself felt sourly cold. The word was so dispicably terrifying that I could scarcely breathe. The word was as follows; "pregnant."

"Oh, my God, I can't be..." I exclaimed. I couldn't say it out loud, so I mouthed back that horrible word. "I just can't! Forget how a-angry James will be! It'll be nothing to that of m-my parents! My God, th-they'll murder me and S-Severus both!" My breath changed to pants as I had to make an effort just to keep breathing.

"No, they won't," he tried to sooth me, though his actions did little. "They may murder Severus if James doesn't get him first, but they won't kill you." I knew he was trying to help, but he was failing. Thoughtlessly and only for a moment, I burst back into sobs, but then I recomposed myself; tears couldn't help me now, and I knew it.

"I-It's getting late," I stated. "W-we'd best be g-getting to bed, or e-else we'll get into t-trouble." Even though I had never done it until December, the stuttering seemed like it was an irreversable side-affect of destroying my life's choices.

"You've got prefect duties tonight. Patrol, remember?" said Remus with a cringe. He didn't like being the bearer of all this bad news, and it was obvious. "You're supposed to patrol with..." He didn't think it was safe for him to say the name, but I remembered.

"Severus.." I whispered, and he nodded. My whisper turned to explosive, compulsive shouts. "Oh R-Remus, do you e-expect me to b-be able to s-spend all night with him?! Wh-what should I do, R-Remus?!"

"Would you like me to serve the duty for you?" he asked honorably, and I nodded ruthlessly. "Then that is what we'll do. You go on to bed, Brilliance, and get some rest. Hurry off, now," he teased, "or I'll have to write you up!" Gently, Remus edged me towards the door, and almost with a smile, I rushed off to my dormitory. I spoke to no one, not even my room-mates.

*****

For weeks I spoke to no one but Remus, a feat that had James, Sirius, and Lily demanding reasons. James grew angry, thinking that Remus and I had developed "a secret love affair". Sirius fumed, accusing Remus of hypocricy. After all, Remus had gone berserk with Sirius began eying Faolan, so how could Remus date James's little sister? Lily found all of their talk nonsense, but she was puzzled beyong belief. One day in mid-May, Sirius was particularly stuck on his accusations.

"..and dating you, James's sister, of all people!" he ranted, basically stalking me down a corridor, "I mean, honestly! If he doesn't approve of me courting his sister, then he can't date you! It's out-right unfair, it is!"

I spun around, but only briefly enough to speak to him. "S-Sirius," I sighed, "You aren't c-courting Faolan. You aren't a c-couple." After I finished, I turned back around on my heels and continued walking. Sirius stayed still a moment before following me and continuing his arguement.

"Well, not officially," Sirius admitted, "but we're still seeing each other, even if she isn't my 'girlfriend'. And besides, Remus was outraged when I only looked at her, so how does he get off snogging James's baby sis-..?"

"Sirius Orion Black, you're the biggest git I've ever met," I spat in his face, having spun back around so quickly that I hadn't even known I'd done it. "Remus and I aren't snogging. We are not a couple so get - over - it!" Angrily, I brushed my hair out of my face and continued my fuming pace away.

"Then what the bloody Hell is your problem, Brill?" Sirius asked. He hadn't began walking again, but he stood still, shouting to me as I tried to walk away. Against my better judgement, I turned around. He looked like I'd just kicked a puppy. "What's going on?" he asked flatly.

"A-ask Remus," I stuttered, averting my gaze to the floor and to my shoes. "Tell him I said you ought to know, and don't go mad when he tells you, because it is in no way what you're expecting." Without further word from him or me, I walked off to the safety of my dormitory, and even if though it was only about seven-thirty, I went to sleep.

*****

Sirius didn't approach me the next day. He didn't approach me the day after, either. It was a week before he even looked at me again. When he did, he nodded to me with a slight smile as if to say "It's okay. We can talk." His smile made me smile, too, because I was happy he wasn't going to break all contact with me. From the way my brother acted, Sirius hadn't done what I'd expected and ran to James to tell him, which I respected. Even though James and Sirius were best friends, Sirius was my friend, too, and I had done so much for him over the years; he owed me this, and Sirius was a man of honor. Having lost all honor from his family, he chose to regain and manage it among his friends.

Soon after, I had to clue in Lily. I couldn't stand making her wonder, stressing her mind, like we were. At first, her mind boggled, and she had a similar reaction as Remus, but for that I was glad. Having such a history with Severus, I was expecting something much more explosive. That same day, I told Xenophilius. He had an expected reaction; he promised to stay by my side no matter what happened. By this time, I knew I wasn't pregnant, which excited everyone who knew much more than if I had been. About a week later, we decided to clue in Peter. He flinched at the news, but shortly moved on. We made him promise not to tell James. Soon, James was the only person among my friends that didn't know, which was exactly how I was planning on keeping it. And soon, my worries of it leaking out from the other side (Severus) would be over; graduation was approaching, and it was coming fast.


	6. The End

By the time I could function almost normal again, it was graduation time, which was fine for me. Sirius, Remus, James, Lily, Peter, and, most importantly, Severus would be graduating and not coming back. I was much more excited for them to leave than I thought I would have been. I thought I would be terrified of the thought of having to go through another year without them, but really, I was more relieved that they were leaving.

The ceremony was grand. It was always an invitation only event, so I had never before seen one, but it was mind-boggling. James and all his mates dressed in robes of their house colors to receive their diploma, proof of their hard, seven-year long labors. After the last student had gotten their diploma, Dumbledore raised his wand to the students, and all of their robes turned the same colors, black and white. Dumbledore spoke then, saying that the colors no longer mattered because they would be in the real world where there were no colors and no teams. Then all of the students tossed up their caps, and some of the caps rained down on the audience members.

One hat landed on me in my fancy white-with-black-flowers dress, sitting perfectly on my head as if I was supposed to wear the hat. I reached up to it and felt some sort of greasiness on it, and I knew exactly whose hat it was. Faolan sat next to me to see her own brother graduate. She, knowing everything about me before I even did, took the greasy hat from me and tossed to the ground in some way that had a symbolic affect, telling me I shouldn't worry over him anymore. A matter of seconds later, the newly graduated class came over to us, and an excited Sirius grabbed Faolan, dipping her and kissing her full on the lips. For a minute, Remus was angry, but he realized there was no way to keep them apart anymore.

James sat in the empty chair on my other side and affectionately put his hand on my knee. I looked at him with eyes flooding with self-pity, but he gave me a simple smile and a wink, and that was when I knew. He somehow knew what I hadn't told him, and I had a feeling he had known since the day of the event. I smiled back nervously, shyly, but I knew he was okay with it. It was in the past. There was nothing left to do.

I couldn't contain myself, and I looked over my shoulder to find Severus. He stood in the back, no parents in attendance. With a feeling it was what I was supposed to do, I got up and went to him, supportive looks from James and our friends following me the entire way, and I spoke to him for the first time since Christmas.

I didn't know what to say, so I started it off simple. "Congratulations, Severus," I said. I didn't whisper or stutter; I was just myself, and how long it had taken me to get back to this state. I didn't know how to not smile; it also just seemed like to thing to do.

"Thank you, Brilliance," was his entire reply. He wouldn't make eye-contact with me, contact that I was so desiring. Instead, he was looking at the floor, so I bent my knees to that my eyes were in his line of vision. Slowly, I stood back up, and his eyes followed.

"I'm sorry," I blundered, just nervous enough to sweat a little, "for everything. I never should have-.." I would have continued, but Severus raised a hand for me to stop, and I did so.

"Don't apologize," said Severus with more understanding than I knew he felt for the situation. "It's in the past. There is nothing to be done about it now. We can move on, pretend it never happened." It wasn't until he said that, that it was in the past, that I realized how much he really was like James. The only differences were Severus's lack of a good parental figure and the house colors.

Knowing that Severus had forgiven me, I felt alive again. It had been like part of me died from harboring so much pain and remorse, but whatever that part was, he had been reborn a thousand times stronger. I was, for the first time in a long time, truly happy, and life could only go up from there.

Oh, how wrong I was.

_~o0O0o~_

It was summer, and news was spreading. Lord Voldemort's killings were getting more and more severe, more separating. More and more former Slytherins, especially those of the graduating class, were trading in their green-and-silver neckties for a black robe, mask, and Dark Mark. I had heard a rumor that Severus had joined, but I wouldn't let myself believe it.

James, Remus, Sirius, Lily, and even Peter made the first thing they did after graduation be signing up for the Order of the Phoenix. By now, there were only two sides. You could be a Death Eater, or you could be part of the Order. There didn't seem to be any middle ground. Even though we had to go back to school in the Fall, Faolan and I signed up for the Order. James and Remus were extremely angry, but we argued that we too had to do our parts to keep the world as peaceful as possible.

June passed without any kind of action, but when July came, the seven of us were catapulted to the front of the battle field. Lily became a natural at self-defense on the battle field while James could attack anyone from anywhere. They were the perfect team, and they were even going to get married. It wasn't official, but Lily said Sirius asked her what ring size she wore, obviously on request of James.

Once July faded into August, Faolan and I found ourselves with just a month left of service. Then we had to go back to school. Faolan knew we were needed more outside than at Hogwarts and decided she wouldn't go back to school, and I could do nothing but agree. After an Order meeting, we explained the situation to Dumbledore who remorsefully allowed us to formally drop out. Again, our brothers were mad, especially Remus, but there was nothing else that could be done.

On August thirty-first, the day before I would have gone back to school if the War hadn't been going on all around, James and I were sent on a mission. Lily, Remus, and Peter would disarm a troop of Death Eaters. Sirius and Faolan would be the look-outs for reinforcements. James and I would have to charge through to find more of the rotten Death Eaters, and attack. There would be more of us, but of the others, I knew none.

The beginning of the ambush went as planned. Lily, Remus, Peter, and the others stopped all of the on-coming Death Eaters while Faolan and Sirius stood watch. Then, James and I, along with several other Order members, charged through. That was when the plan began to deteriorate.

The Death Eaters knew of our attack. One of the Order had been recently tortured into giving us up. They sent reinforcements from the only un-watched side and sent them in on us. James and I saw several lives cut short beside us. And then, the worst possible happened; the Death Eaters purposely separated us. They must have known I would be an easy target without my big brother to protect me.

It was no battle before I became a captured prisoner. Shackles that could resist and reflect any spell possible were bound to my wrists. They took my wand. Completely defenseless, a single Death Eater led me away, a metal chain being pulled to lead me.

I could see James in the distance as I was being led off. He was shooting off spells, sending Death Eaters to the ground left and right, but eventually, Dumbledore appeared and forced a retreat. I could see the Order leaving, and I couldn't help but shout.

"Wait!" I cried, tears threatening me, but I was strong enough to hold them back. "I'm still here! Don't go!" By now, Remus was physically dragging James away, and James's searching eyes found and locked on me. I tried to call him to me. "James! James!"

"Brill!" I could hear him calling faintly from the distance. "Brilliance!" He escaped Remus's arms and made a mad dash towards me, but Remus regained his grip. Remus looked me into the eye and nodded, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. I had to agree.

"James, go!" I shouted, trying to wave him away, but my shackled wrists prevented me from doing so. There were too many Death Eaters. I was too far away. In other words, there was no chance, at all, for a rescue mission, and I had no chance of escape or rescue. It was right then that I knew I was going to die. With a single tear sliding from my eye, I called to James one last time. "I love you!"

"Brilliance, don't give up!" James was still struggling against Remus, and Sirius, after giving me a similar look to the one Remus had shot me, was forced to knock James out. With tears streaming down his and Remus's face, Sirius shouted over the roar of battle and groans of death, "Be strong! He loves you too, Brilliance! We all do!" Then my captor knocked me unconscious, and I lost them.

When I came to, there was only me and a single, masked Death Eater, his wand jabbing under my chin. I had a feeling this was a new recruit because the hand holding the wand was trembling fiercely. He pulled his wand back and flicked it upwards in my direction.

"Up?" I asked, and he nodded. "You want me to stand up?" Again, the masked man nodded, so I stood slowly. I made a point to take my time because I knew, in the end, there were three possible outcomes here. The first was him using the Imperius Curse on me and force me to his, and Voldemort's, biddings. Secondly, he could use the Cruciatus Curse to drive me to insanity. Lastly, he could simply kill me. I wished he would pick the last option. If I was under his control, I could wind up hurting those I loved. As for the pain of the Cruciatus, I would have rather died quick and painlessly than suffer.

His left arm, the non-wand arm, suddenly caught my attention as he slid the hand attached into his pocket to pull out my wand. For a second, I internally groaned, thinking he decided to kill me with my own weapon, but instead, he tossed it to me. On an impulse, I dropped the wand, and it fell to the floor.

"No, thank you," I said, a calm voice that surprised even me, but it told me how truly, I wasn't afraid. Maybe I should've been a Gryffindor. At least I knew how the brave James Potter felt, or let me believe that he felt. With a crooked, inexplicable smile, I added, "I'm good."

Then, the man removed his mask, and all of the breath inside of me shot out like the spirit of a man subjected to dementors. With it in hand, his arm then sunk back down beside his body. His fingers slowly slithered apart enough for the mask to drop to the ground, and the mask rolled over, landing in an overlapping position with my wand. I knew that face. I knew it well.

It was Severus.

Surprised and suddenly frozen as still as a statue, my mind raced. If it had been any other Death Eater novice, I'd have been dead by now. I'd have never seen their face. I wouldn't have been having any of these thoughts. But it wasn't just any Death Eater. It was Severus. Oh, how fate was cruel. He had to remove his mask. He had to stop and stare, standing as motionless as I was. _Who chose our paths? _I wondered. _Who decided that in the end, I had to face him? I won't do it. _And then I heard him mumbling.

"Good God, why does it have to be her?" he sighed, shaking his head in complete desolation for the present situation. "My first mission, my first assignment, and it has to be her.." In frustration, Severus pushed his fingers through his longish black hair. Slowly, I walked nearer to him, every step sharing the moment with a nervous breath.

"Severus?" I said in scarcely above a whisper, "What is your 'first assignment'?" The question was obvious, so I answered it for myself. "Are you supposed to duel me? Is that why you gave me my wand?" Hesitantly, he nodded. "And, are you supposed to kill me?"

"It wasn't supposed to be you!" he exclaimed, and I thought I saw tears in his eyes, but it might have been the dim lighting, but the way his voice was unsteady and flickering, I may have been right. "Lucius was just supposed to bring me an Order member, not a sixteen-year-old girl that I-.."

"Have history with?" I completed after his voice trailed off. "It's okay. I'm a sixteen-year-old Order member, so it isn't like I'm a victim. I signed up for this." He opened his mouth to speak, but I heard only a single sob before he snapped it closed, words escaping him.

I continued walking towards him. Along the way, I stepped on my wand and his mask, and both broke. It was an odd cracking sound; it seemed like, even though it was on the bottom, my wand broke first. It seemed like my breaking wand _caused _his mask to break. Still, I didn't stop walking until I was right in front of him, his chin above my head.

"You're a new Death Eater," I whispered. "I'm a new Order member. We're on separate sides of this whole thing, right?" It was odd, but I smirked. "So, since you're fresh meat in Lord Voldemort's army," I added, and he cringed at the name. "I bet it would help you out to kill me, wouldn't it?"

"Brilliance, I don't want to kill you-.." he started, words almost unable to be made out. I interrupted his statement by pressing my finger to his lip. And I smiled. The smile was to tell him everything was all right.

"It's going to help you, Severus, if I die here tonight," came the words from my mouth. "So, you'll have to kill me now, won't you?" Before he could answer, I added, "No, no, it's okay. It'll help you, so it's what I want."

Knowing there was no way to talk me out of anything once I set my mind on it, Severus nodded one slow nod and, wiping his tears, whispered to me, "Any last requests?"

I had the perfect one on my mind. The only thing here tonight that could have given me a blissful feeling to carry with me in my passing. "Just one," was my half-heard response. "Kiss me."

There was no response. No complaint. No words. I wasn't even sure he heard me. Still, his lips, warm and soft, were on mine almost as soon as the words came out, and his tears slid onto my face. I didn't think he heard me at all. I thought, and rightly, too, that he would have done it even if I hadn't asked him to. Even during the kiss, when I realized it was the second time our lips had met, I was instantly comparing it to the first time. This time was so much better, so much more real, because he was doing it _consciously. _No spell, no potion, no influence made him do this. It wasn't about outside things. It was just me and him. Without even meaning to, I deepened the kiss, throwing my arms around his neck while his own wrapped around my waist.

After God only knows how long, we finally broke the kiss, the embrace switching to more of a hug with me pulled tightly into his chest. My cheeks were brilliantly red, and I smiled because I really felt something in that kiss. Something that never been there before. And it was time to say goodbye. How I hated destiny at that precise moment.

"I love you, Sev," I whispered into him. "I always loved you, and I always will love you." I knew I had said those words before, but I didn't think he understood the last time. This time, my last time, I wanted him to understand, to feel it, too.

"Brilliance," came his response. It was slow-paced, and tears blurred both the words and his vision as I took a step so I wasn't so invitingly close to him. "I will not lie to you. I didn't love you, but.. I could've-- I..I should've."

_This is it, _I thought as I took a few slow steps back, his wand raising at the same rate of my stepping. _In a matter of seconds, I will be dead. No more Helen Brilliance Potter. I just hope.. James can forgive me.. I wish I could see him once more-.._

"Avada Kadavra."

And then I fell down. It was instant. It was painless. Everything I hoped for going into that dark room.

I was stone dead.

Severus turned and ran from the scene, ran as fast as he could. The only things remaining where my broken wand and his broken mask. The wand didn't break before the mask. It was the breaking of the mask that caused the wand to shatter.

**A/N: Awz, Brillie died. :]**** But don't worry, the story isn't over yet! How is this? Well, the next, and final, chapter, shall show you! R&R! **


	7. The Beginning

_Time. Time means nothing now. Time was, is, and will mean nothing. I will be alone, yet I was never lonely. Nothing is around me, yet I will be surrounded. Nothing existed, and yet, everything is here. I was safe. I am safe. I will be safe._

_I can see down there, where my brother will be. I could see as he talks to Sirius. He will want to marry Lily. I watch as he will ask her hand. She said yes! I could see the wedding; it is so beautiful, almost as beautiful as it was here. Ha, Sirius, I told you you'd cry. They will honeymoon; that, I didn't watch. I watch over Sirius and Peter and Remus instead. I will watch over Severus too. Even after death, I loved him. A while will pass. Lily is pregnant? How amazing! Nine months of pain passed; I will be jealous that I could not go through that. Labor will happen! Lily had a boy!_

_They name him. Harry James Potter. I knew in my heart they would name him Brilliance if he had been a girl. _

_I will watch him grow up. Though I guarded my other loved ones, I watch him more closely. This boy will be important; I could feel it. Sirius is crazy! What was he doing? He will always be crazy. Harry can walk! I smiled as he tried, will chuckle with him as he succeeds. _

_It will be October. I am watching Peter. What is he doing? I reach down and will wrap my arms around him for strength and courage. He doesn't seem to feel me. He will tell Voldemort where James and Lily and Harry are hiding! How could he? I will try to warn James and Lily that Voldemort was coming! Oh, Sirius knew. Wait-.. What will go on? Peter killed all those Muggles and is leaving Sirius to take the rap! No, the aurors took Sirius! I watch James again, my brother. He will die. Seconds later, he was beside me. Voldemort comes for Lily. Both of us reached down to offer her strength. She will die for Harry, who Voldemort cannot harm. Lily came to us._

_Years pass, but the years will feel like seconds. Sirius escaped Azkaban, but in two years time, he will be dead. He protected Harry. He joins us. Another year goes, and Albus Dumbledore, our hero, comes._

_One more year, and the battle was coming. Peter dies protecting Harry. He had redeemed himself. He will join us. Soon, the battle in full-throttle. So many will die. So many came. A redhead boy who gets along all-too well with James and Sirius will come. His name was Fred. Remus will be killed. He came to us, along with his wife, Nymphadora Tonks. _

_I watch a shack where Voldemort was. He will call for Severus. I feel that he was going to die. I will offer him my strength, reaching my arms down so he felt me. I can tell he does. Harry was there not long after. Severus wanted to see Harry's eyes- Lily's eyes. As his eyes closed for the last time, I hug his spirit, leading him to us. _

_Together, we six watch Harry defeat Voldemort. Voldemort will not be joining us. _

_Harry grows older. He will marry Ginny Weasley, a beautiful redhead. He named his first boy James Sirius. My brothers approve. His next is Albus Severus. We all agreed that will be a nice name. Finally, Lily Luna. Lily liked it, but I feel hurt almost. Then I realize that Harry didn't know me and would not have reason to name someone for me. What was I to him? A dead aunt he never knew. Nineteen years after that great battle, his wife has not told him that a fourth child would come soon. I smile at this child. Brilliance Hermione was her name. _


	8. Quick Author's Note

**A/N: Forgot to post this at the end of the final chapter! **

**So Brill's story is over. Yes, I added another Potter kid in the 19 years later, it just seemed cute. I'm considering doing other Brill stories. For example, that story had the beginning of her first year, then her sixth year. Maybe I could do the years in between. This is just an idea, so review and tell me what you think!**


End file.
